The Healing Power of Creativity: Expressive Art for Mental Health
- Natasha Tanic
- 12 minutes ago
- 5 min read
When we’re overcome with anxiety, no logic can help us relax and feel better. You feel tense and on edge, even though you can’t quite explain why. I’m sure you can relate…you try to reason, reminding yourself there’s nothing really to worry about, but rationality doesn’t bring any relief. Then you pick up a pencil and start to draw, letting your mind wander as your hand freely forms shapes and contours. When you’re finished, you feel lighter, more positive, and clearer in your thoughts.
Even if you don’t know much about expressive art therapy, you have probably noticed how dancing, painting, or writing a journal can feel liberating or calming. The healing powers of art and creativity have long been known. Today, they have been scientifically validated, too.
In this article, we will explore how drawing and other forms of expressive art serve as practical tools for supporting mental health and overall well-being, rather than merely providing distractions.
What is Expressive Arts Therapy
Expressive arts therapy is a form of integrative therapy that combines various forms of creative expression to help individuals connect with and express their emotions. Whether it’s dance, writing, music, sculpting, painting, or some other form of artistic expression, these creative processes are remarkably effective for many mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
Sometimes I hear people say, “But how can I benefit from art when I’m not skilled in any artistic techniques?” or, “I feel weird doing it because I simply don’t know how. It’s embarrassing.”
The good news is, you don’t need any artistic skills to heal through expressive arts therapy.
Types of Expressive Art Therapy
Expressive arts therapy integrates various forms of art, such as movement, writing, and music, to promote healing and improve mental health. Depending on your therapist’s orientation, they may use the following forms of creative expression in their work:
Music therapy
Art therapy
Storytelling therapy
Dance therapy
Writing therapy
Drama therapy
Many art activities can be easily incorporated into any therapeutic setting with minimal accommodations to help people connect with and express negative, painful emotions through creativity. Expressive art therapy combines well with other treatments such as CBT, trauma-focused treatments, and mindfulness. A trained therapist can walk you through your inner world with art, offering reassurance as feelings arise.
Expressive Art: A Powerful Tool for Improving Mental Health
Through her work as an expressive arts educator, holistic health counselor, and author, Barbara Ganim shows how to use creativity as a gateway to emotional insight, stress relief, and holistic well-being.
If you are experiencing anxiety or depression, are working on inner child healing, or trying to recover from trauma, talk therapy can be extremely helpful, especially if you find talking about your experiences beneficial. However, I have worked with many clients who prefer other forms of self-exploration, such as writing or movement.
What happens when you release these negative, often suppressed feelings through writing, painting, or sculpting? You clear your mind, discharge emotional pain, and begin to heal emotional wounds.
The Science Behind Creativity and Healing
Research shows that creative expression does much more than just lift our spirits. Using art to express your emotions changes the way your body responds to stress. A review published in the American Journal of Public Health found that art can lower stress hormones like cortisol, activate the brain’s reward centers, and promote overall well-being.
Studies show that music, for example, can improve emotional regulation, an essential component of our mental health and well-being.
Other forms of creative expression have similar effects on our mental health. According to Barbara Ganim, “Messages from the heart, accessed nonverbally through image-making, hold the power to heal the most painful emotions and deepest wounds.” In her book “Drawing from the Heart,” Ganim presents a step-by-step program that blends breathwork, body awareness, journaling, and drawing, showing how drawing can “give voice to the heart” and unlock healing. Through case studies, journal entries, and seven structured exercises, readers learn to access emotions, transform pain, and find resilience, even without artistic skills.
What Expressive Arts Therapy Can Help With
Expressive arts therapy can help both adults and children, and it can be used in a wide range of contexts, from schools to hospitals and patients in dementia and hospice care.
It may be helpful for various concerns, such as:
Anxiety
Depression
Low self-esteem
Grief and bereavement
PTSD
Eating disorders
ADHD
Interpersonal challenges
Why Expressive Art Works for Mental Health
Anyone who finds it challenging to express their feelings verbally can benefit from expressive arts therapy. Expressive art offers a way to communicate feelings that we may struggle to find the right words for. Putting emotions into images, movement, or music allows you to process them safely without feeling overwhelmed. The creative process, such as painting, for example, encourages mindfulness, helping you focus on the present moment. Over time, this practice helps you develop greater self-awareness and resilience.
Practical Ways to Use Expressive Art in Daily Life
Journaling
Expressive writing can give you an insight into suppressed emotions and help release them without self-judgment. A similar effect can be achieved by writing poems, songs, or stories.
Drawing, sketching, painting, or doodling
These expressive activities can calm your mind and release tension.
Music and movement
Music and movement help shift your energy, reduce stress, lift your mood, and help you reconnect with your body. Just listening to calming music can reduce anxiety and depression levels.
Photography
Mindful photography can help you focus on your senses and feelings, making you more aware of yourself.
Getting Started with Heartlife Holistic:
Small Steps You Can Try Today
Remember, the key is the process, not the outcome. You don’t need talent to enjoy the benefits of expressive arts.
Ready to learn about the ways expressive art can improve your health? Learn how expressive art therapy can help you feel calm, clear, and resilient.
Kathy Morelli, LPC, is currently accepting new clients and only practices using the HIPAA-compliant app called Doxy.me. Kathy accepts most insurance plans.
Please contact Kathy via her Psychology Today profile.
References
Flores Gutiérrez, E. O., & Terán Camarena, V. A. (2015). Music therapy in generalized anxiety disorder. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 44, 19–24. Retrieved on September 9, 2025, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0197455615000064
Koo, M., Chen, H., & Yeh, Y. (2020). Coloring activities for anxiety reduction and mood improvement in Taiwanese Community-Dwelling Older Adults: a randomized controlled study. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2020(1). Retrieved on September 9, 2025, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2020/6964737
Music listening habits tell about mental health. (2015, October 15). ScienceDaily. Retrieved on September 9, 2025, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151022094959.htm
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